Women Entrepreneurs to Get 60 Percent of SME Fund – CBN

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has earmarked 60 percent (N132 billion) of its N220 billion Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF) to women entrepreneurs in the country. Mr Onoriode Olotewo, the Branch Controller of the apex bank in Ilorin, Kwara State, spoke on behalf of the CBN Governor at an organized workshop of the scheme, stating that “the specific objective is to reach over 2 million MSMEs over a 10-year period. In addition, 60 percent of the fund is targeted at women entrepreneurs.” The MSMEs fund was launched by the Central Bank of Nigeria in August 2013 to provide the much needed capital for that sub-sector of the economy with the view of channeling long-term, low-interest funds through participating financial institutions. This fund which was launched at the 7th MSME financing conference and a D-8 workshop in Abuja last year, would address challenges of access to capital that operators in the sub-sector are currently facing. “The successful inter-mediation of the financial sector lies in the financial market to integrate the micro entrepreneurs, with low income earners, farmers, artisans into the financial system to improve the effectiveness of the policy” Sanusi said during the initial launch of the fund. As at 2012, Nigeria had about 8 million MSMEs employing about 42.4 million people and contributing about 46.5 per cent of nominal GDP. Meanwhile, Olotewo said the apex bank has developed operational guidelines for the state government’s participation in the MSME development fund with a view of reaching the peoples at the grassroots, adding that the MSME development fund has two broad objectives of performing both social and commercial functions. According to him, the “social /development fund” will constitute 10 percent which is made up of grant- 5 percent, interest drawback, 3 percent, and managing agents operational costs, 2 percent while the “commercial fund” will constitute 90 percent of the fund- 90 per cent of the commercial component; and guarantee/refinancing – 10 per cent of the commercial component.